Syllabus

Instructor

Instructor: Sue Bogar
Office: ECS 225D
Office Hours: TuTh 1:00-2:00 p.m., 4:00-5:00 p.m., or by appointment
Telephone: 410-455-3964
E-mail: bogar@cs.umbc.edu

Lecture Time and Place

Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., Lecture Hall 4
Tuesday and Thursday 5:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m., Lecture Hall 1

Textbook

C How to Program by H.M. Deitel/P.J. Deitel Prentice Hall

Course Description

An introduction to computer science through problem solving and computer programming. Programming techniques covered by this course include modularity, abstraction, top-down design, specifications, documentation, debugging, and testing. Selected topics in computer science are introduced through programming projects in the C language running under a UNIX operating system. The core material for this course includes functions, recursion, arrays, strings, pointers, records, and files. Students are assumed to already know the basics of a modern high-level language such as C or Pascal (expressions, basic data types, arrays, and control structures). Students with no prior programming experience should take CMSC 104. This is the first course for students interested in pursuing further study in computer science. Note: credit will not be given for both CMSC 106 and CMSC 201 Prerequisite: MATH 150 and previous programming experience.

Objectives

The objectives of this course are:

Grading

There will be five projects worth 8% of the final grade each, for a total of 40%; some number of quizzes worth a total of 10%; a midterm and a final exam worth 25% each. There will be no make-ups for missed quizzes. Your final letter grade may be curved above the standard formula:

0 <= F < 60, 60 <= D < 70, 70 <= C < 80, 80 <= B < 90, 90 <= A <= 100.

Under no circumstances will the grades be curved downward. Your grade is based on timely work accomplished during the semester; incomplete grades will only be given for medical illness or other such dire circumstances.

Project Submission and Grading

The critical programming skills cannot be learned simply by attending the lectures. You should budget enough time to work on the projects as well. Projects are due by midnight of the due date. If you fail to turn in a project on time, a late penalty will be assessed. Projects will be graded according to five equal parts: correctness, design, style, documentation and efficiency.

You may turn in incomplete projects for grading. Late penalties apply as usual. A project that runs incorrectly will receive no more than 75% of the grade. A project that does not compile will receive no more than 50% of the grade. These guidelines are for incomplete projects where a good effort was made. Garbage will receive 0%.

You will be turning in your projects electronically. Details will be announced in class before you need to submit projects.

Project Policy

All projects must be completed by your own individual effort. You should never have a copy of someone else's project either on paper or electronically under any circumstance. Also, you should never give a copy of your project, either on paper or electronically, to another student. This also means that you cannot "work" on the project together. Cases of academic dishonesty will be dealt with severely.

If your project is turned in by someone else, both you and the person copying your project will receive a 0 for that project. This includes "substantially similar" projects. Furthermore, all parties concerned will have their prior projects checked for cheating. So, if you cheat on Project 5, you can lose all the points from Projects 1 through 4 as well, even though you may have done all the work and just "let" other people copy from you.

Lectures and Readings

You are expected to attend all lectures and your weekly discussion session. You are responsible for all material covered in the lecture, even if they are not in the textbook. You are responsible for the material in the readings, even if they are not covered during lecture. There will be some number of unannounced quizzes which may be given in either the lecture or the discussion, so you should keep up with the assigned readings during the semester.

Exams

In general, the exams and quizzes will be closed-book and closed-notes. The final exam will be comprehensive and cover the material from the entire course.
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